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1. The lounge is for the CodeProject community to discuss things of interest to the community, and as a place for the whole community to participate. It is, first and foremost, a respectful meeting and discussion area for those wishing to discuss the life of a Software developer.
The #1 rule is: Be respectful of others, of the site, and of the community as a whole.
2. Technical discussions are welcome, but if you need specific programming question answered please use Quick Answers[^], or to discussion your programming problem in depth use the programming forums[^]. We encourage technical discussion, but this is a general discussion forum, not a programming Q&A forum. Posts will be moved or deleted if they fit better elsewhere.
3. No sys-admin, networking, "how do I setup XYZ" questions. For those use the SysAdmin[^] or Hardware and Devices[^] forums.
4. No politics (including enviro-politics[^]), no sex, no religion. This is a community for software development. There are plenty of other sites that are far more appropriate for these discussions. Or if you must, use the Back Room[^] - but enter at your own risk.
5. Nothing Not Safe For Work, nothing you would not want your wife/husband, your girlfriend/boyfriend, your mother or your kid sister seeing on your screen. For those discussions where you wish to be a little more frank, use the Soapbox[^]
6. Any personal attacks, any spam, any advertising, any trolling, or any abuse of the rules will result in your account being removed.
7. Not everyone's first language is English. Be understanding.
Please respect the community and respect each other. We are of many cultures so remember that. Don't assume others understand you are joking, don't belittle anyone for taking offense or being thin skinned.
We are a community for software developers. Leave the egos at the door.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
modified 9-Dec-11 16:59pm.
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Just found this pretty inspirational video[^] edited from a Schwarzenegger speech. (Full speech[^])
It's probably one of the best speeches I've ever heard, and for the most part, it seems like he wrote it himself.
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill
America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde
Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
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Suddenly you're interested in speeches? I wonder why?
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
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You two related? (Last name is the same, so I wondered)
Gryphons Are Awesome! Gryphons Are Awesome!
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Probably split personality... 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
-----
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience
Greg King
-----
I had the right to remain silent, but I didn't have the ability!
Ron White, Comedian
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Yep.
Colin is my son. My adult professional developer son. But my son none the less.
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
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Mike Mullikin wrote: My adult professional developer son
Don't worry Colin - every family has a black sheep!
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
-----
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience
Greg King
-----
I had the right to remain silent, but I didn't have the ability!
Ron White, Comedian
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I've decided to prioritize learning things for my job by scheduling a daily hour-long meeting called "ABC: Always Be Coding" (title borrowed from this). Basically, my idea is to set aside that time each day to at least give myself the chance to learn something new or hone some skill (or work on some low priority task that might otherwise never get done). It's sort of time to give myself the freedom to work on anything related to my job, no matter the priority.
I didn't make it to prevent others from using up that time (e.g., with meetings). It's more of a reminder to myself to work on things that may otherwise be neglected, to prevent stagnation. Do any of you have a similar strategy to focus on learning and other non-priority tasks?
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I got a daily reminder for reporting the time I used to learn stuff for the apprenticeship school (The time doesn't get paid - They see it as given that I learn for school, 10-15 hours per week -> Beside work and school itself.) Therefore my week has 55 hours, theoretically. Practically it sums up to near 58 hours, school is longer than the usual 8 hours - And I often work more than the usual 8 hours  .
But ey, I love my job: I learn a lot of stuff, my team sums up about 50 decades of coding, application desing & requirement writing experience and my boss is a great person who gives me a lot of support.
cheers,
Marco
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There was user-interface: [^] that seemed like ... magic, to the very, very few who saw ... or touched:
"Extravagant Inventions
The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens
October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013"
Metropolitan Museum of Art [^]: there are twelve videos of the Roentgens' work here.
However, let us not forget the Antikythera Mechanism, 2100 years ago: [^], and not neglect to wonder at Hublot's modern re-creation: [^].
Or the Jacquard loom that Babbage saw in France, driven by hundreds-of-thousands of punched stiff-paper cards, that produced a silk multi-color portrait of Napoleon.
Fast forward to fat-tiles constantly updating, and the roar of video-pachinko machines in an Akhibara parlor, almost certainly owned by a Zainichi Korean.
Wonders never cease, but there is always the miraculous in ordinary ... just ... beyond.
incredulously, Bill
“Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection." Edward Sapir, 1929
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I'm sitting here in front of my monitor looking at my IKEA desk... 
Be excellent to each other. And... PARTY ON, DUDES!
Abraham Lincoln
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So, I need to program a little utility that should convert, and somehow edit, data into different formats. Mainly XML based. I do want to do this in C#, just to learn the language. Background: I have a (not) solid (anymore) MFC C++ background, and last time I programmed in a decent programming language (this excludes VB for Excel and other macros in different tools), it was five years ago.
I heard/read a lot about dead or semi-dead technology here (WPF, Winforms, XAML, ...), or maybe not dead at all, any my question would be : which should I pick up to make my attempt at coming back into the programming world ?
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus
Do not feed the troll ! - Common proverb
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I still use Winforms for the odd fat client (read that how you will): does the job and is pretty quick and easy to code.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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Perl is pretty good at this sort of ad-hoc task.
Rage wrote: which should I pick up to make my attempt at coming back into the programming world
Not Perl.
“Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities - that's training or instruction - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed”
“One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated”
Sir Thomas More (1478 – 1535)
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Write a command line app in C#. That will allow you to focus on your task (and C#) without having to worry about how Windows Forms or WPF works.
/ravi
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I agree with Ravi.
This is the type of stuff I do every day, in C# console applications.
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I'd stay stick with Winforms if appearance isn't a concern. It's simple, and it gets the job done. Honestly, besides appearances, I don't see a huge benefit to WPF.
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If you aren't considering web technologies, I'd go with Windows Forms. It's a well supported technology that gives you some nice capabilities you won't get with console applications (e.g., a dialog that allows the user to pick files).
Though, WPF is more fun and the XAML you use with it seems to be what newer platforms are moving toward (i.e., Windows Store Apps). 
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I'd largely agree with AspDotNetDev - go WinForms for the basic stuff (with a lot of nice bits thrown in and easy to do, such as file locations).
Except I'd probably also say: "Don't do it like that".
If you haven't used .NET in anger before, then trying to pick it up as you go along is like trying to wash your hands using a fire hose - a lot of stuff is going to fly right past you!
The C# stuff anyone with good C++ should pick up in a day or so - it's a lot simpler language than C++. But the meat of it, the stuff that makes it work, is the .NET framework. And whether you learn Console, WinForms or WPF .NET is truly enormous. It's like knowing C++ didn't mean you could code effectively in MFC - you could scrape round the edges, but to really do the job you needed about six months of intensive learning. .NET isn't quite that bad - it's a lot more consistent than MFC ever was - but there are probably a couple of dozen data organisation classes alone, if you start counting DataTables, DataSets and so forth into the mix.
Get a book, or a course, or a set of videos and follow through in order. They present the info in a structured way, leading you through the info as you need it. Working it out by coding you will miss a lot, because you simply won't know it is there...
The universe is composed of electrons, neutrons, protons and......morons. (ThePhantomUpvoter)
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I was fortunate enough at the weekend to spend some times with friends who are on vacation and were spending a week in Laguna Beach[^].
They were at an amazing hotel on the beach and we spent the day either by the pool or beachcombing. It is, indeed, paradise on Earth.
If only I had put some sun tan lotion on; any amount would have helped - you don't need factor 10 million; factor 30 should be sufficient.
Had I only done that one tiny thing I would not now look like this[^]. Note: that picture isn't me but the effect is the same. I haven't slept properly since before the weekend. The wife has been slathering lotions and potions on me: I feel like I'm being readied for a BBQ with me as the main entree and I'm pretty sure those flakes of skin building up nicely beneath my chair are mine.
DON'T FORGET THE SUN TAN LOTION!!! 
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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If I could offer you one piece of advice - wear sunscreen[^]
Reality is an illusion caused by a lack of alcohol
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Free hamster sponsored booze?
“Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities - that's training or instruction - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed”
“One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated”
Sir Thomas More (1478 – 1535)
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You don't visit the Get-Together's much do you? Source[^]
I am waiting on word from the CP team because they have asked the organisers to put the dates back to simplify their organising things.
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Watched the US Open last weekend. That is the match to watch if you want to see the men get separated from the boys.
Yes, Rose is a Brit, but he was born in South Africa and it was nice to see another player with roots in SA win.
Don't understand why that country produces so many US Open champions (more than any other foreign country,
unless I am mistaken) Probably because they grow up on courses that are not so well manicured as elsewhere? They get
used to tough conditions, like those at Merion. There an old saying in SA: "Africa is not a place for sissies."
Maybe that has something to do with it?
I was rooting for Phil though. He really deserves to win. He is one of what the old Scottish golfers called
"good guys." Six times runner up and never a win. Man that is just plain cruel!
And always a smile! That shows character.
The course at Merion also made me aware of the way the game has changed over the decades. Merion is more
like the courses players like Hogan and Jones played: Courses that required precision and finesse, rather than
spectacular force and long distance. Ask any Air Force pilot whether he prefers precision or spectacular force.
Not that precision is always the answer. I remember once watching a video, I think it was on YouTube about an
event in Bosnia - not sure - where a guided bomb missed a critical target - a bridge. The pilot's exclamation
would have made any foul mouthed golfer who hit a shank, very proud.
What I really miss here in the US, is my caddie. He was a proud Zulu. A powerful man that could do almost anything.
For five years we navigated the fairways and hazards of courses around Pretoria as a team. You develop a special
bond of trust when you face adversity and danger together for such a long time. And he knew the game we played. I could ask
him anything and always get a good answer. And he knew that if he wanted to know anything going on in my head, all
he had to do is ask. Any golfer will tell you how valuable such a partnership can be.
But sadly now, getting a little older I'm going a little deaf and sometimes my darling wife complains when I turn
the TV volume too high while watching a game. Must get myself a couple of them transmitter thingies that you stick
into your ear to extend the hearing range. And I don't need long range, just to the TV, so I should get good battery
life. My toes also feel numb and painful most of the time. If I can only find a good neurologist. One that
does not jump to wild and inaccurate conclusions, like the one I saw in SA. So it has become difficult to walk
18 holes, and riding in a cart does detract somewhat from the game, does it not?
You can learn so much about the character of a man on the golf course. This is the one place where you will see
how he acts when facing adversity - adversity caused by himself and only himself. One thing that you can
guarantee, is that in 18 holes, this is going to happen repeatedly.
Does he tend to "lose it"? (His temper, cool, composure, nerve, etc.) Be wary of this man in times of crisis.
He may not be dependable under stress.
Does he tend to blame forces outside himself for his misfortunes? He has an external locus of control. He does not
acknowledge his own mistakes and therefore will be slow to learn. Learning through our own mistakes is one of the best
ways to improve yourself. But if you deny your mistakes, how do learn to you avoid them in the future?
"It matters not how one plays the game, but where you place the blame!" - Jack Doherty - My old half-Scottish
half-English golf buddy, whenever you blamed a bad shot on "external" factors. I often teased him that he should wear half a kilt
and half a pair ugly short khakis, like the British did in South Africa, and then he would call me a bloody rock spider.
Then we would relax under the giant oaks of the Irene club sipping a cool beer and solve the entire world's problems
- Political, financial, moral, whatever. He was quite a philosopher and seemed to have an answer for anything.
Does he tend to cheat when he thinks no one will see (pushing the ball into a better lie in the rough with his foot while
pretending to do something else)? Watch out. This man probably lacks integrity. Be very wary before you trust him
in business deals.
Does he have the courage to call a penalty on himself when he made a mistake, even though nobody saw? Bobby Jones
did this twice during his illustrious career. He lost the 1925 Open precisely because of a self-imposed penalty
stroke. This is the ultimate integrity. This is a man you can depend on. When this man says "things will be thusly"
you can bank on the fact that they will thusly and not thatly. A true gentleman.
Does he look at you a little too intensely when chatting? Well, he's trying to "read" you - for whatever reason. Proceed
with caution. Wear dark glasses when playing poker with him. Your sympathetic system may "tell" on you in the size of
your pupils.
You don't have to talk too much - just learn to observe.
"Watson, you see but you do not observe." - Sherlock Holmes
I tried to teach my kids the game, but unfortunately my one daughter was slightly allergic to grass. Not as bad as
my wife's nasty allergy to cats, but bad enough to cause issues at times.
Ah well, them wuz good days.
modified 3 hrs ago.
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Cornelius Henning wrote: You can learn so much about the character of a man on the golf course. This is the one place where you will see how he acts when facing adversity - adversity caused by himself and only himself. One thing that you can guarantee, is that in 18 holes, this is going to happen repeatedly.
Spot on.
I used to play with a guy that would get very angry when he hit a poor shot. As soon as that happened the rest of us would wind him up and he would not recover: his game was done. Pity, as he is a really good player, but we all have flaws and golf brings them out for everyone to see.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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